Tuesday, July 31, 2007

So, I was going to do a sweet and heartfelt post about how my middle baby turned 18 months old yesterday. Complete with a cute picture of her, funny things that she says, and maybe a list of her favorite things.

However, this tragedy happened:

And gues who was the little culprit.

The fact that she uses the dog as a step-stool - entirely her own idea I might add - does nothing to soften my heart.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a 37″ Flat-Panel LCD HDTV!!! The ultra slim, lightweight Insignia® 37″ Flat-Panel LCD HDTV (Model: NS-LCD37) features 1366×768 Resolution, with 16:9 widescreen ratio for cinema-quality viewing. We would be enjoying picture perfect quality from every angle and not missing any details with its built in high definition capabilities.

Along with a ton of other features - you can read all about them over at Best Buy - this model is equipped with a V-Chip for parent control and is Energy Star compliant. And - for extra fun - the TV can double as a PC monitor so that you can download and watch HD movies. (Cool!!)

Friday, July 27, 2007

~ a husband that brings me a Sonic diet coke before going to work~ trips to the zoo~ giraffes, freaky awkward looking creatures that make me smile~ "wet like an egg" kinda hot*~ making fun things with paper and glue~ a new-to-me sewing machine!~ celebrating five years with my husband one week from today~ learning about having the mindset of Christ and desiring that for myself

*A quote from yesterday's trip to the zoo, where it was very, very, VERY hot:

N1: Mama, I'm like an egg.

Mama: Okay. How are you like an egg?

N1: I'm all wet.

She cracks. me. up. (I'm guessing she is remembering to when she and I made cookies last week and we managed to drop an egg on the floor - there was "wet" everywhere!) Whatever it was, I laughed. : )

This has been a wild and crazy week! Thank you all so much for your entries and comments on my little goodies. I've enjoyed each and every email that's come in. All 344 of them ... and I had a comment from a long ago college choir friend who found my blog! : )

A couple questions were asked in the comments through the week about my prizes so hopefully this will catch everyone that asked ... if not, leave me a note or email me.

~ if you don't win and would still like a set of personalized notepads for your family, the price for these is $12. That gets you two (2) 50 sheet notepads, 8.5 x 5.5 size. Shipping (priority mail) is additional. If you are interested in having some made for your family, leave me a comment WITH AN EMAIL and I'll be happy to make you some.

~ I had a couple questions about the altered binder. While I would love to make these for sale and custom make them, I'm afraid I would be setting myself up (and others) for disappointment if I do that right now. (Three littles, three and under ... I know you understand!) However, I will occasionally premake them and post a picture here and they will be available on a first-come basis. And for those of you that are crafty and want to try this on your own, the instructions I used are here. So bookmark me, because you may see them turn up occasionally. : )

~ Lastly, someone asked me where I found the binder size that I used (8.5 x 5.5). This particular binder I bought at Walmart, but I know you can also find them at Office Depot and Staples.

And now, the winners! And a photo-documentary of the judging!

First, the entries!

The assistant! (Please disregard the doghair on the floor ... we have two siberian huskies that are summer-time shedding and since 3/5ths of the house is still asleep, I haven't done the morning vacuum run yet). : )

And, the moment you've all been waiting for ... the winner of the notepad is PlaidHearts/Dawn!!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

I'm playing along with Lauren at Baseballs and Bows ... she's emailed me a list of five questions which I'm going to answer. Here goes!

1. What is your favorite holiday?Christmas, and even more now that I'm a Mama. : ) The excitement of putting up the tree, wrapping presents, designing and addressing Christmas cards for friends and family, Christmas Eve service at church, the carols, and the Christmas story ... I love it all. This year I'm looking forward to doing an Advent calendar for the first time with my girls ... N1 will be four and is already asking when we're going to put up the Christmas tree.

2. What are your strengths as a mom?Wow. Tough question. Probably my organization and creativity in organizing ... fitting five people (happily) in a two bedroom/one bath can be tricky at times. I think I'm pretty good at being "in tune" with the little signals the girls give off ... it doesn't take me long to pick up that they aren't feeling 100% or one is about to cut a tooth. And, I think I'm willing to change. If I find that one of the girls is having problems in a certain area (i.e., right now it's N2 and afternoon naps), I experiment with new schedules for a few days or week to try and figure out what's going on with her and what I can do to help her. Note: this doesn't mean I like change necessarily, but I do like trying new things and this helps me be flexible. Clear. As. Mud. : )

3. Do you have a favorite Bible verse?My blog is titled after my favorite Scripture. Psalm 52.8-9 reads:

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

I discovered this verse while doing Beth Moore's study on David, A Heart Like His (and personally, my favorite study of her's ever). Not long after that I went through a very, very rough time of depression and about wore this verse out meditating on it.

I'm going to cheat and mention one other verse(s) that are near and dear to me. Lamentations 3.23-26 & 32 reads:

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

Once again, these verses have walked alongside me through a recent difficult season. They are exceptionally special to me. : )

4. What is your favorite place to go for a date night?We don't get lots of date nights, so I'm very easy to please. (At least I think I am). : ) I love it when we go to a bookstore and wander around drinking coffee. Dinner out is always fun - time to talk without having to also feed small people at the same time is a luxury round these parts. (Not to mention the perk of not having to wash the dishes and free drink refills).

5. What do you picture yourself doing 10 years from now?Let's see ... N1 will be a teen (yikes!) and E and N2 will be 9 and 10, respectively. I would love to have had a few more little ones, but in all likelihood I would be completely out of the diaper phase by then. Hard to imagine. : ) Best guess, I will probably be homeschooling some of my girls and possibly be preparing others to enter public school as middle school students. Another possibility, if my husband ever chooses to enter seminary full-time, might see us moving. Who knows? But it's exciting to think about!

Want to play along? Leave me a comment (and your email) and I'll send you some questions to answer. Thanks Lauren! This was fun. : )

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

This doggy days giveaway is INSANE! I'm over 230 comments on my giveaway post ... safe to say, yesterday I spent a lot of time going through emails! : ) And I've definitely not made it through all the contest posts myself.

Whew. I'm tired thinking about it.

Today's agenda ... a little of this and that around the house, some church work that HAS TO get done today, and some planning for the next couple months. But now, time for some time in the Scriptures before I kick it all off (or as best as I will be able to do with two little girls who decided to get up at 5:45 a.m. this morning!)

Monday, July 23, 2007

Happy Monday! If you are new to my blog (here via the Bloggy Giveaway hosted by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer), welcome. : ) I'm Stephanie, stay-at-home-mama of three girls, child of King ... oh, and I like to make things! : ) In what little spare time I have, I enjoy creating invitations, notepads, notecards, and scrapbook. I love me some paper and pens.

So, without further ado, the goodies. : )

I've got two goodies to give away this week. The first is a personalized notepad for you and your family. You can see a sample here:

It is 8.5 x 5.5 and can be lined or unlined (50 sheets per pad). We'll personalize it with your family name at the top ... the bottom will have your husband, you, and then children. (If you are single and win this post, we'll talk and can fix you up as well). : ) I love making these for friends ... they work well for thank you notes or notes to your child's teacher at school. You can see some more samples of these (and other projects I've done) at my Punkin' Press website if you are interested.

Second, I'm giving away an altered binder! I made one of these a few weeks ago and it was so fun I'm giving one away. Size is 8.5 x 5.5 and you can use it for all sorts of fun things. (This is my favorite size of notebook and paper).

You can click any of these pictures/graphics to see them larger in Flickr.

Now the important stuff.

TO ENTER:

Leave me a comment by Thursday night, July 26 at midnight (CST) and let me know if you want to be entered into a drawing for the binder, the notepad or both. (Just a note, I'll be able to ship the notepads internationally, but not the binder). Anonymous comments will not be entered so please leave an email address.

Happy commenting! I look forward to travelling around to others' blogs and seeing the other goodies that are up for give-aways this week. And, feel free to look around here. I'd love to have you visit.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

The story behind the photo ... a typical Saturday morning at our home. The girls are munching on dry cereal while playing in our big room. N2 takes it to a new level of protecting her food from our dog by eating it in a bucket. Makes me laugh. : )

Friday, July 20, 2007

~ a trip to Dollar Tree~ watching my oldest pick out a gift for her aunt all buy herself~ picking the black jelly beans out of the bag that I bought N1~ our first childless outing tomorrow with my sister and brother-in-law to see a movie~ a conversation with a friend this evening~ babies that fall asleep on your shoulder~ little girls that like to dance and dance and dance

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

This challenge has been a great thing for me. It's forced me to look at some things that I have been frustrated with for a looooong time. And surprisingly, guess who needs to make some changes? : )

I started off the challenge with some typical wifely goals (and, please don't hear this as bad because they were/areas that I need to work on):

greet him when he gets home from work with a smile and not a frown or tired face

pick a book on marriage to read over the next 3-4 weeks

think before I speak

think before I speak (so important it needs to be on there twice!) :-)

work at doing a good job with our budget and what I have to work with for groceries and other needs (more about this later)

But over the course of the challenge, my posts and my heart took a different turn. (You can see weeks two and three here.) It was starting to get a little personal (yikes!) : ) Not as much of just greeting him with a smile on my face, but working on some attitude adjusting so that the smile and joy of serving him came from my heart.

My post from last week seemed to be the pinnacle of where the Lord was steering me during this challenge. To focus more on Him and out of that will come a better love for my husband and a great desire to serve him as I am supposed to as a Godly wife. I'm even developing a desire to get up early before the rest of my household for a few stolen minutes in the Scriptures! This is totally new for me and just a little bit exciting! : ) Right now, I'm just enjoying time in my Bible, reading a few chapters and maybe picking out a verse that strikes me to think about during the day. However, I am going to start adding some time for prayer ... real sit-down prayer as opposed to the quickies I send up during the day as things come to mind. I'm excited to see where the Lord is going to lead me during this time, and how this will start to change me, my attitude, and my marriage! My "morning meeting" has become the most important part of my day, and I can truly say that I miss it when I oversleep or a child-issue prevents it from happening.

Wow, this marriage challenge sure did a 360-degree turn! Instead of just making some surface changes (and maybe some husband-changes) I am being changed from inside out. It's it amazing how God works? : )

I have been so moved by this new morning time that I am having ... it's nothing earth shattering, but finally taking the time to make a quiet time with the Lord a priority has been nothing short of amazing. With that, I'm throwing out the idea of a way to be accountable to keep up with my morning meeting with the Lord. I'm going to post an update every couple of weeks on how I'm doing, what I've been reading, etc., and if any are interested in participating in this with me, I would love it. I've even (because I'm slightly geeky that way) made a graphic (or two or three) that anyone who wants to participate in could post on their blog. Thoughts? I'll probably be doing this whether or not anyone else does, but I would love the company if you need the accoutability and encouragement in this area from others. : )

Four tv shows I watch:I really don't watch any TV other than on DVD, so I'm going to list my favorite TV/DVDs that we have liked enough to purchase! : )1. West Wing2. The Cosby Show3. Alias4. X-FilesI know ... quite an odd assortment of favorites, but that's me. : )

Friday, July 13, 2007

Things that make you happy ...~ that the most horrendous trip to Walmart ever in the history of mankind with three girls is over~ that no one was injured other than the small chunk of hair that N2 tore from N1's head~ that the big girls are going to Grandma's tonight to spend the night~ that I have a fun dinner planned for me and the husband (fun dinner = food that is not kid friendly)~ that there is the possibility that we will go and wander around the bookstore together with baby E~ that diet coke might be drunk at some point later today~ that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet

Lately I've been working on something ... getting up for some quiet time in the morning before the rest of the house is awake. I set my watch alarm and the coffee maker for 6:00 a.m. and when they go off, I creep out of bed - trying my best not to disturb the baby in the moses basket next to our bed, or the girls in the room next door. I make a cup of coffee, adding whatever new flavor of cream that I'm trying out, and come out to my desk in our family room. I lay my Bible open across the desk and try and figure out where I left off yesterday. How handy my little read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year bookmarks are. : )

This is hard for me. I've struggled for years with setting aside time to read my Bible and study ... there are more "exciting" things to read, or I want to have the "perfect time" - no disturbances, hot coffee, maybe a cute coffee shop where I can journal and be uninterrupted by children for a couple hours.

That's not my reality. : ) And that's okay. However, putting off time invested in my relationship with the Lord is only going to be more and more detrimental in the long run. Whether I get a whole hour alone in the morning, or I end up reading my Bible while feeding my 10 week old, I just need to do it.

Now, why am I writing about this when this is supposed to be my Honor Your Husband post for the week? This is something that I've been thinking on for a couple of weeks now ... how can I be the best wife for my husband, one who puts God first and serves her family out of that relationship if it's only a casual Sunday-morning relationship at best? I am honoring my husband by making time with God a new focus and priority. It is changing my attitude and my heart about serving my husband - when I submit my sinful self to the Lord, I'm seeing a difference in how I choose to submit to my husband (and with what kind of attitude). : )

Head over to Christine's at Fruit in Season for more HYH posts and encouragement.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

... and super easy. The inspiration and instructions came from this site.

I got frustrated with never having enough room for all the info I wanted to list in my address book ... lines to short for email addresses, not enough phone lines (because everyone has a home phone, cell phone, work phone, etc.) and on and on ... so I made my own. Font is CK Marissa, one of my favorites.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Monday: mac & cheese for the kiddos (and Travis, he loves it); I'm supposed to have a girls' night out with friendsTuesday: lasagna, saladWednesday: chicken stir fry, made with whatever miscellaneous veggies I can find in the freezerThursday: spaghetti, some veggieFriday: pizza nightSaturday: I have no idea ... I'll go grocery shopping Thursday or Friday and restock then. :-)

I had a couple questions from this post that I put up on Saturday so I'll see what I can answer here. Some of my answers may still not explain very much, but I'll try. :-)

Lauren asked about the photo of the girls and how I did the photo effect. Let's just start with the fact that I am no digital photography expert. I am, however, and expert in clicking something in my photo program to try and then hitting undo if it doesn't look good. :-) That said, I use Adobe Photoshop Elements to play/correct/mess with my photos. Using that program I opened the picture up and first changed the picture color to sepia. Then I searched around in the different pre-made frame options in the program and picked a "rough masks" so the edged look all swishy and messy.

Lu asked about ideas ... I find them all over the place, but here are some of my recent favorites:

Rebecca Cooper's book: Real.Life.Scrapbooking. It is excellent. She's a stay-at-home-mom who just wants to encourage folks with limited budget, time and energy to keep scrapbooking. Her pages are simple and beautiful. My layout of the girls was my own creation, but I have to say that I tried to pattern just the simplicity of her layouts.

The inspiration for the baby announcement also was from Rebecca Cooper (she's a favorite blogger and scrapper of mine, can you tell?) :-) I tried to find her original announcement on her blog, but struck out or I'd post a link to her original creation. Then I just copied the same style for the baby shower invitation that I was working on, changing the style and text.

For cards and invitations that I make for others, I get a lot of ideas from this magazine: Paper Crafts. I tend to simplify a LOT of their project because I just don't have the supplies that their designers have, and the friends that I design stuff for usually can't afford to pay what it would cost me in just supplies to make some of them. However, it is GREAT for inspiration.

That's just a start. Maybe I'll post more inspiration links in the future. Right now, it's time for some lunch round these parts. :-)

Prepare vermicelli according to directions and drain in a colander in the sink. Melt butter in large skillet and add onion, bell peppers, and garlic. Cook on medium high until vegetables are tendercrisp. Remove vegetables from pan and add chicken, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook until chicken is hot. Add vegetables, mozzarella, half and half, and Parmesan cheese to chicken. Reduce heat and cook on low until cheese is melted. Rinse vermicelli in hot water until noodles are warm. Add vermicelli to pan and toss gently. Serve warm.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

I'm late this week on posting my update for the Honor Your Husband challenge hosted by Christine @ Fruit in Season. Life is in full swing here - complete with ant issues (ick!), girls that won't nap, and laundry like you wouldn't believe. That, and I've been wrestling what to post for this week's update! It seemed that once I posted my thoughts on contentment last week, I immediately began a battle that I struggled with all. week. long. Rebellious and contentious thoughts. Anger. Frustration. You name it. Both at life in general and toward that certain someone. Not so much in the success department.

However (and isn't God funny this way?), this morning I picked up my Bible to read a chapter in Philippians before my girls got up. I've read these verses before, but they JUMPED off the page at me this morning:

Not that I speak from want for I have learned to be content in whatevercircumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I alsoknow how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learnedthe secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance andsuffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthensme.

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His richesin glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4.11-13, 19

Timely, eh? More to work on in this area, most definitely.

My goals last week were:

to continue to think before I speak.

something practical ... remember to fill the coffee pot and set the timer EVERY NIGHT for a week so that I'm not doing it in the morning and there is hot coffee ready for Travis to take to work. (Yeah on this one!)

have a good attitude this week as I have a lot of evening kid duty by myself this week. Travis and our oldest are doing VBS this week, and so I'll have the two littles all by myself every evening and then a hyper/exhausted/filthy 3.5 year old to wind down when they get home. (Did pretty good on this one...)

read my Created to Be His Helpmeet book and study verses on contentment. (Um, not so good here ... but then again, I haven't read much of anything in the last week so it's not that I put it aside for something entertaining. Will work on this this week.)

And my new challenge (just adding one):

Work on improving my mind (and memory) so that I can have intelligent conversations with my husband.

I hope I'm not the only one who struggles with this one. I feel like I spend so much of my time immersed in diapers, bottles and the like, that when my husband asks me a question about how his Sunday School lesson for the youth went, I can't even remember what he talked about ... and I was sitting there the whole time! I need to be better about (1) paying attention and also (2) stretching my mind and growing in other areas besides that of playmate and chief diaper changer. Please hear me, not that those areas aren't important, but they so are, but as a wife, I think part of my responsibility is to also be an intelligent conversationalist with my husband and right now I'm not. :-) I want him to come to me when he has big thoughts to think and discuss and not find better conversation opportunities elsewhere. Know what I mean?

Stephanie Shepherd

Living in Tennessee and wife to one outstanding man and mama to 4 amazing munchkins. Striving to follow God in the unseen daily simple tasks in a world that wants everything to be big and in the spotlight.